The large segment of society that enjoys outdoor camping seeks a tent construction that provides increased portability and durability under extreme weather conditions. Campers seek not only shelter from external elements of wind, rain or snow, but they also desire adequate ventilation within the internal environment of the tent. To meet these needs, the typical tent construction includes a fabric tent body that is supported by a plurality of poles, with the tent body commonly having one or more mesh windows or vents, and a door. In order to maximize both the tent's weather resistance and ventilation, tents also commonly include a tent fly. A tent fly is an additional layer of fabric that is attached to the tent body and/or tent poles, with an open space formed between the tent body and the tent fly to provide for ventilation. The tent fly forms the outermost layer of the tent, and thus it is important that the tent fly is impervious to wind, rain, snow or any other external elements.
Tent flys are commonly attached to the tent poles using anchors such as loops of hook-and-loop fastener material, or clips attached to a length of webbing. Regardless of the specific type of anchor used, the anchor must be attached directly to the tent fly. This is commonly done by sewing a portion of the anchor directly to the tent fly. Direct sewing creates thread holes through the tent fly which may allow rain, melted snow, or wind to penetrate the tent fly. To minimize the adverse effects of the thread holes, tent manufacturers commonly apply one or more layers of waterproof fabric, commonly referred to as “seam tape”, over the stitches. Providing seam tape over the stitches, however, does not always provide a sufficient barrier against the elements, especially in view of the high stresses that may be applied to the stitches in high wind conditions, which may cause the stitches to enlarge and/or tear the thread holes in the tent fly.
Thus, there remains a need in the art for a system that will permit stitchless, waterproof attachment of an anchor member to a tent fly or other portion of a tent. Additionally, such a system must maintain an adequate seal when the tent fly is subject to variable multi-axial load conditions, such as may be experienced during high winds. Finally, the system must be light weight, pliable, easily administered, strong, and must not unduly interfere with the transmission of light into the tent enclosure.